usinfo.gov Disinformation? :)

There's an essay at usinfo.state.gov entitled How To Identify Misinformation. You just have to love some of these statements.

For instance:

Does the story fit the pattern of a conspiracy theory?

Does the story claim that vast, powerful, evil forces are secretly manipulating events?

...wait...you mean...like the idea that there is a vast network of evil terrorists conspiring together against us?

This also amused me:

Aljazeera.com, a deceptive, look-alike website that has sought to fool people into thinking it is run by the Qatari satellite television station Al Jazeera

Funny. When I go to aljazeera.com and click on About Us they state quite clearly:

Aljazeera Publishing owns and operates Aljazeera.com
Aljazeera Publishing and Aljazeera.com are not associated with the controversial Arabic Satellite Channel known as Jazeera Space Channel TV station whose website is Aljazeera.net.

Then there's this:

There are many exaggerated fears about depleted uranium...
Depleted uranium is what is left over when natural uranium is enriched to make weapons-grade or fuel-grade uranium. In the process, the uranium loses, or is depleted, of almost half its radioactivity

Umm..."almost" half? So...if there's an ounce of full strength uranium, that's a problem...but if there are two ounces of "almost half strength" uranium, that's ok? Or no, wait...excuse me...if there's an ounce of full strength uranium that's a problem, but even if there are 2000 tonnes of "almost (but not quite) halfway" depleted uranium....that's ok. Even if the United Nations was passing resolutions about it's use back in 1996...even if use of depleted uranium on the battlefield was found to be a violation of seven different conventions?

Oh, all these sites say that. "Don't listen to them--listen to us because we're right."

Rense, Conspiracy World, and Joe Vialls made their Top Three Misinformation list. (Joe Vialls died earlier this year.)

Wow, that site is actually more propaganda-ish than most of the conspiracy sites I have come across. That's crazy.

If you want another government-site laugh, check out www.ready.gov...

I especially like under "Nuclear Blast"; one of the information tips is "Consider if you can get out of the area", and has a map with a spot labelled "You are here", and "Location of blast" about 10 feet away.

Yeah, it's like the gummint is going out of their way to make you feel silly for even considering what Rense or Vialls or whoever had to say. They forget that old joke that you can tell a politician is lying because their lips are moving!

They apparently also believe in using Goebbels' advice (or was it Himmler...get those Nazis mixed up) that in order for a lie to believe it has to be loud and you have to do it for a long time.

Then there's Bush's comment about catapulting the propaganda.

Reminds me of this puzzle. There are two people and you know one is a liar but you don't know which one. The thing to ask either one is, "What will the other one tell me?"